Counting Stars
by In2TheMystic
Summary: Percy feels like he's in a maze - she drives him crazy and he doesn't know whether to run away from his feelings or do something about it. / For MaydayParade8123. Cover by viria.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Rick owns the characters, I just created the plot.**

**This is for MaydayParade8123, who has giving me great advice and has been such a sweetheart to me. Her writing is amazing and her fics cheer me up when I feel down. Consider this a late Christmas/thank you present!**

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Percy thinks Christmas is by far his favorite holiday.

Christmas stands for everything Percy believes in: joy, forgiveness, and most of all _family_.

He enjoys deciding what to get for his family and friends, remembering odd bits of conversation between them that gives him clues about the things they would love.

Plus, there's nothing more fun like the agonized waiting that comes when he sees the brightly wrapped packages under his side of the tree.

This time, though, Percy has a feeling Christmas is going to be different. He isn't sure why he has that nagging feeling; all he knows is that it tugs at him at random moments and won't go away until he washes it down with homemade brownies and milk.

He likes to think, however, that no amount of warning and vague advice would have prepared him for her.

**~0~ ~0~ ~0~**

There are twelve days left before Christmas and Percy can't help but think how fitting it is.

He keeps playing "Twelve Days of Christmas" on repeat and it drives his cousin Nico so crazy that he threatens not to give him anything for Christmas. Percy knows he doesn't mean it but it only drives him more determined to play the song whenever possible.

Nico just ends up muttering how one day he'll make him pay and _what the heck is a partridge in a pear tree anyway?_

A few hours later, Percy gets a call from a frantic Grover. Apparently, his friend Grover went out to buy a Christmas present for Nico but he doesn't have a clue on what to get him. He's stuck there until he gets Nico a present and Percy needs to meet him _right now_ because he always knows the perfect gift for anyone. They agree to meet in the mall's coffee shop and when Percy arrives, Grover has a scowl in his face and a headache thanks to the never-ending Christmas tunes.

It only takes Percy about five minutes to decide that they need to go to the bookstore for Nico's present.

Grover ends up buying him a Stephen King book because Percy's mom has been pestering Nico about reading more and Percy swears that Nico will dig this stuff. Grover soon caves in and ends up buying him a Peter Johnson figurine from this Greek mythology series he's obsessed with.

Overall, Percy's proud that his subtle hints have made Grover feel like he actually thought about Nico's gifts.

They're on their way to the door, about to leave, when Percy sees something that has him digging in his heels and skidding to a stop.

Annabeth Chase is standing in the dystopian section, deep in thought as she reads the back cover of the book she's holding.

Annabeth Chase is a sore subject for Percy. He's had a crush on her since forever, when actually it's been about two years.

When Grover looks back and sees where Percy's gaze is directed at, he rolls his eyes and heads over to the arts-and-craft aisle. To say Grover knows about Percy's crush on Annabeth is an understatement. He's been a witness to Percy's staring and idiotness around her so many times that it's no longer amusing.

Percy stays where he is, wondering if he should go up there and strike a conversation with her. It's not like he's never talked to her before. They're somewhat friends and know the basics of each other. Percy wants to be close friends with her, though. And then he wants to be something more than friends. However, he doesn't want to scare her off, so he shoves those thoughts away whenever he sees her.

He forces himself to walk over there, his stomach turning and twisting with each step. She doesn't look up once as he stands next to her.

"My friend recommended this book to me. I'm not so sure about it, though. What do you think?" she asks him, skipping the usual greeting.

She finally looks up to him as she hands him the book she was holding.

He doesn't know what the title of the book means. He doesn't even bother asking if she knows, all he can think about is how he has goosebumps in his arms.

He pretends to read the back cover, furrowing his eyebrows in an attempt to make it look like he's actually interested in the book.

"I think you should give it a try. Who knows, maybe it'll end up being your favorite book? You shouldn't judge a book by its cover, you know," he smiles.

Annabeth takes the book from him and stares at him. She soon shifts her stare to the bag he's tightly holding. "What book did you get?"

Feeling like his heart might burst if he speaks, he digs out the receipt and gives it to her.

"Never would have pegged you for the Stephen King type," she remarks, taking out a pen from her purse.

"It's not for me, it's for a friend," he manages to say.

"Then I strongly recommend this book, I have a feeling you'll like it," she says, bowing her head as she writes on the receipt.

Percy doesn't want to tell her that he's really picky when it comes to books but if Annabeth recommends it, he promises himself that he'll read every word even if it's boring.

"Anyway, I should go. I think I'll end up buying this book after all," she smiles, giving him back the receipt and walking away with a slight wave.

He looks down at the slightly crumpled receipt he's holding in his hand. He tries smoothing down the paper as he reads what she wrote.

**"The Maze Runner"**

**Call me, you idiot.**

**( xxx ) xxx - xxxx**

He has to read it twice and pinch himself to convince himself he's not dreaming. Once he's convinced, he rushes over to where Grover is, thrusting the paper into Grover's face.

"No joke?" Grover asks him after almost eating the paper.

Percy takes a deep breath and shakes his head.

"Well what are you waiting for? Go get the book so you'll have an excuse to actually call her!" Grover exclaims.

Percy rushes to find someone who works here so they can help him find the damn book. During all of this, he keeps his eyes alert. He wonders if he'll see Annabeth or if she's already finished paying. He doesn't see her curly blonde hair anywhere so he tries to swallow his disappointment and assure himself that it's for the best. After all, if he had seen her, he isn't sure what he would have done. He probably would have made an idiot out of himself and made her regret giving him her number.

As soon as he gets home, he ignores everyone and heads to his room. He throws himself to his bed and after changing his position he gets the book out. He doesn't pay much attention to the cover, frankly it's too green and boring. Instead, he heads right to the first page, hoping that this wouldn't turn out to be a ridiculous love story.

He stops reading when it's late at night and the house is finally quiet, signaling that everyone must have gone to sleep. He grabs the candy wrapper that's on his bedside table, sticks it on the page he's currently on, and reluctantly closes the book. He hadn't expected the book to be that good and he fights the urge to just keep reading.

He takes out the receipt, unsure whether to call or not. He knows he should wait a few days just so he doesn't look too eager but he's never been a patient person. Besides, if Annabeth didn't want him to call, she wouldn't have given him her number in the first place, right?

That thought only makes him more nervous.

He doesn't know why he has that number - _her_ number - in his palm. He feels like asking her but he's afraid he won't like what she'll say. He can't even think about the possibility that maybe she found out about his crush and she's planning on setting him straight once he calls.

(No, that possibility makes his blood run cold and he can't breath quite right. It's better if he just deletes that and pretends like he never thought about it.)

He decides to call her, telling himself that he needs to stop acting like a coward.

He pushes the seven digits with more force than it is necessary and bites his lip when he presses Call.

The short ringing makes him feel like his insides are made of jelly.

"Hello?" a slightly muffled voice answers.

"Uh, hi!" Percy exclaims, the last part coming off as a question.

He inwardly cringes on how his voice was an octave higher.

"Who is this?" the voice asks.

"Um, it's me. My-I'm Percy? We go to the same school? You gave me your number earlier?" Percy stutters, feeling like someone was going to come out underneath his bed and tell him he's been Punk'd.

"Oh, right. _Right_. Sorry, I didn't recognize your voice for a second," the voice explains.

Of course she didn't recognize his voice. Percy knew that there was no rational reason he should feel embarrassed and a bit hurt, but it still stung.

"It's fine, Annabeth," he tries to assure her.

Percy swears he can faintly hear some type of music playing in the background. "I wasn't expecting you to call today."

He curses himself for calling her today. He knew he should have waited three days.

"Well me neither, but I just wanted to thank you for recommending the book," Percy tries to play it cool.

"Oh it was nothing. I was just doing my duties as an avid reader. I take it you liked it then?" she teases him.

"Yeah, thank you. You were right, it's a good book. Thanks," he repeats.

"You already said that," she reminds him.

"Right," he mutters.

He takes a deep breath and fights off the urge to tell her how great her voice sounds. Knowing his luck, she'll probably think he's trying to have phone sex with her, which he really doesn't want. (Not that he doesn't want to have sex with her - he is a teenage boy after all - but she means more to him than that. He doesn't want to associate her as just a good laid. He wants to refer to her as his girlfriend and find out what makes her laugh and mad. Really, he just wants everything with her.)

Being too immersed with his thoughts, he hadn't realized he had left Annabeth with an awkward silence.

He clears his throat. "So how's your book? Did you end up liking it?"

"I haven't had time to read it," she sighs.

"That sucks," he tries to lament.

"It does! I had to take care of my brothers and they _finally_ went to bed. I swear, it's like they live to make my life miserable," she rants.

"You have brothers?" he inquires, wanting to know every single thing about her.

"Twins. They're both ten and more annoying than an alarm clock," she says, frustrated.

"What are their names?"

"Bobby and Matthew," she answers.

"I've always wanted a little brother," Percy blurts out.

"Are you an only child?"

"Unfortunately yes," he sighs.

"Well I can assure you you're not missing anything. You get a few years where they're sweet and adorable but they soon become intolerable," she assures him.

"I want that, though. I want to be someone's big brother. I want to embarrass them at every opportunity and be the person they secretly look up to. I don't know, it's always just kinda been my mom and I. I think she misses me, which is ridiculous because I see her everyday, but I think she misses me being her little boy," he admits.

"You really love your mom," she states softly.

"I do, she deserves the whole world for the crap she's been through. She's always been there for me and supported me no matter what. I just…I really love her," he chuckles. "Is that weird? I think it's a bit weird."

"It's not weird," she tells him, hesitating for a moment before rushing out her words, "My mom died when I was young. I don't really remember her that much."

"Are you okay?"

Percy knows that apologizing won't bring her mother back. He finds himself wishing she was right next to him so he could pull her against him and hug her while telling her that he was there for her no matter what. All she had to say was his name and he would be there with his arms open and his heart racing with every breath he took.

"I'm fine. It was a long time ago," she brushes off his concerns.

"I've never met my dad. I don't know if he's alive and I'm not even sure if he knows I exist. If he does, he does a great job in not giving a crap," he mutters, pulling on a loose thread in this pants.

"Are _you_ okay?"

"I'm fine. It was a long time ago," he quotes her.

He can practically feel her rolling her eyes at him.

"Let's talk about something else," he suggests, not wanting to talk about his father anymore.

"Fine, what do you want to talk about?" she soon gives in.

"What's your favorite movie?" he asks her in a serious tone.

"Seriously?" she laughs.

"What?" Percy asks, not getting why she was laughing at him.

"Only you would have asked such a random question," she smirks.

"Hey, it's a very serious question. Now stop changing the subject and answer my question," he orders in a playful tone.

"I really like the movie Catching Fire," she reveals.

Percy hums, searching for that title in his memory. "Never watched it," he finally says.

"Well it's a sequel, maybe you watched The Hunger Games? That's the first movie," she clarifies.

"Nope," he told her, "Never watched that one also."

"Well we have got to fix that! I can't believe you've never watched those movies, the trilogy is so good," she gushes.

"It's a date then," he yawns.

_Crap._

He sits up straighter and forgets his sleepiness when his brain registers what the heck he just said.

He's thinking if maybe he can somehow blame it on how tired he is when he hears her laughing slightly.

"Alright, just don't forget," she grins, her voice turning a bit cheery.

"I…uh I have to go," he mumbles.

"Okay, I'll talk to you later then," she says, a bit confused at his sudden change of mood.

Percy pretty much hangs up on her without saying goodbye. He knows it's rude but at the moment he doesn't care. He's shocked that she implied - hell her words pretty much screamed it out loud - that she wouldn't be against the idea of going on a date with him. He doesn't know how to respond. He wishes he had a bolder and daring side who could have easily flirted with her and swept her off her feet with just one look.

He hopes he didn't just ruin his chance by hanging up on her.

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**A/N: This is kinda of a Christmas fic and I know it's late, but I really love Christmas fanfiction so there you go. **

**The story title is named after the song "Counting Stars" by OneRepublic. **

**The story cover is by Viria and if you haven't checked out her fanart, please do! **

**The main point of this fic so far is just about Percy's crush on Annabeth and the ****_development_**** of it. The story will probably end on Christmas. I'm not entirely sure, since I haven't finished this yet. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I don't know when I'll be able to finish/post Chapter 3 so it might take a while. Also, thank you for the reviews! I love hearing your thoughts about the story and it encourages me to write faster. So again, thank you, it means a lot!**

* * *

_Eleven days until Christmas_

"I can't believe you did that. You're more of an idiot than I thought," his friend Leo tells him.

Percy had just finished describing The Stupidity Act, which is what he named yesterday's event.

"She was totally coming on to you and you ruined it by being a paranoid jerk," Leo continues, "I'll be surprised if she ever wants to talk to you again."

"Shut up, I already tortured myself enough," Percy groans.

"Seriously, what were you thinking? Oh scratch that, clearly you _weren't thinking_," he rolls his brown eyes.

"Hey, cut him some slack Leo. At least he had the guts to call her. Besides, I don't remember you acting that differently when you kept trying to ask Calypso out," his other friend Jason defends him.

"Didn't Calypso ask _you_ out since you were too chicken shit to do it?" Frank asks, his mouth full of french fries.

Frank and Leo soon end up in an argument that threatens to turn into a food fight in any second.

Percy had invited his friends to the local diner for a much needed macho talk. (It certainly wasn't the equivalent of a girl talk - guys don't talk after all. They eat while their insults make each other feel a bit better. Definitely macho.)

They ordered enough food to feed a small army and his friends soon ganged up on Percy, sensing something was wrong. Percy had told them everything, starting from seeing Annabeth in the bookstore and ending with The Stupidity Act.

There was something about a thick delicious hamburger that softened your guilty feelings and endless worry.

"Stop it you guys," Jason orders, "This isn't helping Percy's situation at all."

"He's right," Grover, who had been quiet all long, speaks up, "We need to help Percy, not fight over something stupid."

"I'm tired of seeing him stalking her, so I guess I'm in," Leo finally sighs.

"I don't stalk her," Percy tells him, outraged.

"We don't care that you have the potential to be the next Edward Cullen. What matters is that you finally ask Annabeth out," Frank points out.

"Jeez, Twihard much?" Leo mutters.

"Do I even need to comment on the fact that you know that?" Frank shoots back.

"I'm not a stalker! Do you guys seriously think that about me?" Percy asks, a bit hurt.

"Well you did seem to know where she was when the student council kids were looking for," Frank mumbles.

"I just happen to know that she hangs out near the Spanish buildings during lunch. That doesn't prove anything," he stubbornly says.

"What about the time when we went to the rally and you immediately knew where she was? There were hundreds of kids out there, no way you could have known that unless you stalk her!" Leo argues.

"Her curly blonde hair is easy to spot. Plus, I'm not blind, you know!" Percy rolls his eyes.

Leo opens his mouth but before he can say anything, Jason starts speaking.

"Right now that isn't the most important thing. You need to correct your mistake and finally ask Annabeth out," Jason reminds him.

Grover nods along, biting into his burrito.

Percy bites his lip. "How do I do that?"

"You can start by apologizing," Grover swallows.

"Yeah, just send her a text telling her you're sorry about yesterday but you had to do something," Jason shrugs.

"That's all?" Percy wonders.

"That's just the beginning," Jason explains, "After she responds ask her to meet you somewhere - preferably at a place with food - because you want to make it up to her and then once you guys are there and having fun, you man up and ask her out in a real date."

"Are you sure that's going to work?" Percy was having a hard time hiding his skepticism.

Jason smiles. "It worked for me and now Piper and I are together."

"Calm down, Mr. Hot Shot," Leo scoffs.

Jason keeps quiet, his blue eyes fixed on Percy.

"I guess," Percy hesitates.

"I asked out Juniper when we were listening to Mariah Carey," Grover shares, a soft expression on his face.

"You guys were clearly made for each other though. You knew she liked you and vice versa. I, on the other hand, had to fight tooth and nail for Calypso. It's so not cool when the girl you like is extremely awesome, there's always the possibility that another guy can come sweeping in and try to steal her away," Leo admits, tapping his fingertips against the edge of the table.

"You think _you_ had it tough?" Frank snorts. "Hazel is super close to this guy named Sam. The whole time she kept giving me mixed signals! One day she would pay close attention to me and laugh at my jokes, the next she would be blushing and smiling to whatever _Sammy_ said. I got so irritated that I ranted to her about it and just ended up kissing her. That was definitely not how I imagined our first kiss would be like."

Percy drinks his water, overwhelmed that they were sharing all of this and not knowing how to respond.

He never knew the exact details about how they asked their girlfriends out. He didn't ask so they didn't bother telling him. Besides it wasn't really in their nature to endlessly talk about these things. Leo was the only one who was perfectly fine in informing his friends all about his love life. But the fact that they were openly discussing this without Percy asking them to, meant a lot to him.

"What we're trying to say is that we all asked out girls in different ways. Technically, there's no wrong way to ask a girl out as long as your intentions are good," Grover adds, crumpling up his burrito wrapper.

"I'll keep that in mind," Percy promises, grateful for their help.

That ends their talk about feelings and girls, their conversation soon turns to the topics of sports and uncompleted homework. They spend the time catching up and savoring every bite of their desserts.

Percy heads back home, shaking his head when they ask him if he wants to join them. They plan to go watch the new comedy movie that looks promising and they invite him to go with them. Percy refuses, however, he just wants to go home and relax.

When he enters his living room and flops on top of the sofa, he's not surprised to see his cousin Nico sitting in front of the other couch, feet tucked in as he watches Breaking Bad.

"Hey, how was the gang?" Nico asks him, glancing at him before turning his attention back to the screen.

"They gave me some advice," Percy says vaguely, scratching his arm.

Nico turns around, giving Percy his full attention. He stares at him with a strange look on his face that makes Percy get a bad feeling. "Listen, if you ever want some tips, feel free to ask me. I may not have Jason's looks but I do have a bit of experience," Nico says awkwardly, determinedly looking down at his blue socks.

Percy stares at his younger cousin in mortification. He considers the possibility of suffocating himself with a pillow to escape this embarrassment.

"Do all of you think I'm some type of stupid coward that can't ask a girl out?" he wonders, horrified at the sudden realization.

"Well you haven't made a move on her during the two years that you've liked her," Nico trails off, his ears turning a bit red in sympathy.

"I wanted to make sure that I actually liked her. I wasn't going to ask her out and then break up with her a few days later," Percy glares.

"And it took you two years to realize that?" Nico raises an eyebrow.

"Annabeth can be a bit intimidating," he unwillingly admits.

"You mean you want to piss your pants anytime you talk to her," Nico smirks.

"What is it to you anyway?"

"I just don't want you to give the family a bad reputation, might scare off some people," Nico tells him, a wry smile on his lips.

"We don't even have the same last name," Percy rolls his eyes.

"Yeah about that, I'm thinking of changing my last name. I will no longer be Nico di Angelo, from this day forward I shall be Nico Jackson," he declares.

"You're full of it," he groans slightly.

Nico snorts, ignoring him and paying attention to the screen again.

Percy stands up and leaves for his room, leaving Nico alone with his madness. He sits on his bed and takes his phone out of his pocket.

He's not sure how he's going to do it but he's so fed up - all the constant sympathetic looks have got him on a bad mood - that he just wants to get this over with.

Bouncing his leg up and down, he sends a text to Annabeth.

**To: Annabeth From: Percy 6:36 PM**

**are u still up for thg marathon**

A small _ping_ appears a few seconds later, alerting him of her reply.

**To: Percy From: Annabeth 6:36 PM**

**you sure you can handle it?**

Percy slightly smiles, glad that she doesn't seem mad about yesterday.

**To: Annabeth From: Percy 6:37 PM**

**i have popcorn and homemade cookies**

**To: Percy From: Annabeth 6:38 PM**

**get a box of tissues ready and I'm in.**

He does a silent fist pump, relieved at how easily she accepted.

**To: Annabeth From: Percy 6:39 PM**

**awesome tomorrow then around 1 pm my place**

**To: Percy From: Annabeth 6:40 PM**

**uh sure. I'll bring the movies then!**

Percy texts her his address, writing down the directions with as much details as possible.

He can't stop smiling the whole time. He knows he didn't exactly ask her out but that doesn't stop him from feeling like the king of the world.

Now he just needs to find a way to kick out Nico from the house for tomorrow.


End file.
